


Don't You Dare Leave

by Windierelf



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Aftermath, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Nightmares, Other, Post-Star Trek Beyond, Threesome - M/M/M, Triumvirate, dealing with grief, healing together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26372239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windierelf/pseuds/Windierelf
Summary: In the aftermath of the final confrontation with Krall; Jim, Spock, and Bones work on healing as individuals and together. Basic rewrite of the end of Star Trek Beyond, focusing on the recovery of our favorite command team.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy, James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock, James T. Kirk/Spock, Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock
Comments: 10
Kudos: 94





	Don't You Dare Leave

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by the amazing DetectiveSpaceCore who had to suffer through my never ending comma splices to find the story below.

_The Enterprise was crashing, and this time there would be no saving it. His silver lady had put up her last fight. Jim reached out for the bond he shared with his lovers, but it wasn’t there. The ground was rushing towards him and he stood alone, truly alone on the burning bridge. He tried again, but there was nothing as if their minds hadn’t been connected the last three years. He fell to his knees with a sob, closing his eyes he waited for the impact. What was the point?_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jim Kirk’s eyes snapped open and he jerked upright in the chair he had fallen asleep in. His eyes darted around the room getting his bearings as he attempted to control his breathing. As the dream cleared from his mind his memories settled back in place. He was in Spock’s hospital room on the Yorktown space station. His gaze rested on the sleeping Vulcan’s form, well not quite sleeping as Vulcan healing trances were closer to deep meditation than sleep. Jim relaxed back in his chair as he watched Spock’s chest rise and fall with every breath, the artificial moonlight of the station casting a beam of light across his pale features. The chronometer on the biomonitor stated that it was nearly 0600, Bones should be returning soon from his shift. After he had patched Spock back together, he had been approached by the hospital director to help with casualties. Never one to say no to helping others, Bones had diligently been patching up members of the crew and civilians alike before returning to Spock’s room in the early hours of the morning and getting some sleep while Jim either kept watch over both of them or went to meetings with the Commodore and other Starfleet officials. Today was to be one of the days where Jim would spend most of his day away from the hospital room. He was going to arrange a recovery mission on Altamid; members of the crew hoped to recover personal items of theirs and of the friends that had been lost. Jim wasn’t going to hold his breath that any personal items of his could be recovered, but he hoped Spock and Bones might be able to recover something.

Jim continued to watch Spock breathe as the soft light changed from artificial night to artificial day. Unbidden the dream, nightmare, from earlier floated to the surface of his mind. What would he do if he didn’t have the bond with Spock and Bones? Would he have let himself go down with his ship? No, probably not, logically (ha thanks Spock) Jim would have fallen back on his training and hoped that his friends would be all right. Jim sighed, he had never been more grateful for the bond they shared, knowing they were alive somewhere always kept him grounded. Behind him the door swished open, startling Jim from his thoughts, and he turned to see a tired Bones step inside quietly. His eyes sought Jim first, which told the Captain that the good doctor had picked something up on something being wrong from his part of the bond. Bones usually kept up mental shields around the bond, still being slightly wary of the “Vulcan hoodoo.” Since their return, however, he’d left himself a little more open to the bond so he would know instantly if something changed with Spock or Jim.

“You all right Jim?” he said in a low voice, even though they knew Spock wouldn’t be disturbed by their conversation.

“Yeah, just a dream Bones,” Jim said with a soft smile holding a hand out to the other man. The doctor took the offered hand and intertwined their fingers, squeezing lightly.

“You want to talk about it?”

“Nah, it was dumb. Just all the stress of everything messing with my subconscious, making it play what-ifs.” Jim said as his oldest friend stepped closer. He leaned his head against the doctor’s hip and sighed. Bones hummed in acknowledgement, he knew all about the what if game, his mind had played enough over the last 20 years.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Well good thing I have such steady hands, your little jolt through the bond almost made me drop a very expensive piece of medical equipment,” Leonard said sending a mock glare at the blond leaning against his hip. Jim just grinned up at him, eyes sparkling.

“And we greatly appreciate those steady hands doctor,” Jim said bringing their joined hands to his lips. Leonard huffed a laugh at his partner shaking his head, he squeezed his hand again before letting go and moving to check Spock’s read outs. He sighed; there was still no change and no indication that Spock had moved from his trance to regular sleep. This wasn’t the first time Spock had needed to be in such a trance, the longest occurrence lasting about a week, but with everything that had been going on Leonard would be a lot happier when their hobgoblin opened those chocolate eyes.

“It’s been three days Jim, I’m starting to get worried,” Leonard said as he closed the chart on his pad. He leaned against Spock’s bed and closed his eyes with a sigh. He heard Jim move behind him, but didn’t open his eyes. He felt arms come around his waist and he leaned back against Jim’s firm chest.

“It will be all right Bones; he’ll be awake before we know it and back to criticizing our lack of logic in no time.” Jim said as he rested his head on Leonard’s shoulder. Leonard let out a breath that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh, bringing a hand up to rest against Jim’s on the doctor’s stomach. They stood pressed together for several minutes, at some point they reached out and laid a hand on Spock’s still, cool hand. Eventually Jim looked up to check the time and swore slightly.

“I gotta go love, meeting with the Commodore at 0900 and I need to get changed and take a shower,” Jim said, squeezing Bones again stepping away. He leaned down to brush a kiss against Spock’s forehead before turning and pulling Bones into a kiss. The kiss didn’t last long enough in Leonard’s opinion, but he knew Jim had to get going.

“I’ll be back in a few hours, try and get some sleep, I’ll bring lunch when I get back,” Jim said as he grabbed his jacket on his way out the door. Leonard waved his hand and sat in Jim’s vacated seat, the long shift earlier catching up to him. He couldn’t keep doing this; they needed real shore leave. The sooner they could put the whole situation with Altamid, Krall, and the destruction of the _Enterprise_ behind them the better off they would be. Leonard stretched as best he could in the chair and looked over some files on his PADD before his eyes grew heavy with sleep. Some time later it was Leonard’s turn to startle awake, though it was a toss up whether it was because of a bio monitor indicating a change in the patient on the bio bed or from the zing to the bond. On the bed Spock was shifting slightly and the monitor indicated increased brain activity. Leonard stood quickly, coming to the edge of the bed. He grabbed the Vulcan’s hand and looked up at the monitor. With every minute that passed Spock became closer to consciousness, but he seemed to be contending with a nightmare of his own in the process.

“Come on Spock, you need to wake up now darlin’” Leonard said, caressing the Vulcan’s cool cheek. As he initiated more skin contact Leonard pushed as much calm and affection as he could through the bond. As Leonard opened himself to the bond they shared he realized Spock’s shields were completely down. This should not have been surprising to the doctor given the Vulcan had been practically in a coma for three days. However, unused to the mental onslaught Leonard found himself pulled into the nightmare Spock was fighting.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_They raced through the open areas of the Yorktown trying desperately to reach the top, where Jim and Krall fought over the Abernath in the station’s ventilation processor. Leonard pushed the fighter as fast as he could while Spock held onto the hatch release at the back of the ship desperately hoping he wouldn’t need to catch a falling Jim, the wound in his side would not be able to bear it. Glass swirled above them in the gravitational slipstream; they watched as Kirk and Krall fell to another building. Leonard drew a sharp breath as Krall jumped from the building only to sail through the air with sparkling bits of glass._

_“Captain, he’s using the gravitational slipstream to carry him back to the center,” Scotty’s voice came over the shared comm channel. Spock thought his heart would stop when he watched Jim leap from the building to follow Krall._

_“Jesus Jim,” Leonard swore in front of him. More buildings blocked their view of what Jim was doing, but based on the sounds coming from the communicator Jim and Krall were in a physical altercation._

_“Captain,” Scotty’s voice broke through the sounds of the fight. “The weapon is in the chamber; you have to stop the processor now or everything breathing on Yorktown is dead.” Jim gave no verbal acknowledgement, but the sounds of the fighting increased. Leonard and Spock released a small sigh of relief when they heard Jim’s voice responding to whatever Krall had said._

_“Better to die saving lives than to live with taking them. That’s what I was born into,” Jim said, sounding out of breath. The processor was back in view and they could see Jim in the upper section avoiding contact with an oscillating black mass. Scotty was talking Jim through how to vent the processor; there wasn’t a large margin of error._

_“Damnit, Jim! You won’t make it out in time,” Leonard said over the comm, his voice was tense and he held the controls in a white knuckle grip. They were circling the processor tower now. Spock and Leonard split their attention between the voices coming from the commlink and what they could see of the processor. Something was wrong. More desperate sounds from the commlink as they watched Krall go tumbling from the processor with the weapon surrounding him. They ignored his descent towards the fan in favor of looking to Jim who was desperately hanging onto the side of the processor’s hatch._

_“Come on Jim,” Leonard mutters to himself, watching his partner struggling to hang on. He swears as he sees Jim go tumbling towards the giant fan, about to follow Krall out into space and guns the fighter forward._

_“Spock, you’re going to have to catch him,” Leonard calls over his shoulder._

_“Affirmative Doctor,” Spock says, preparing to open the hatch. Spock’s heart thrummed at twice its normal speed in his side as he fought for calm to be able to aid his mate. At Leonard’s signal he pulls the lever, he can see Jim scrabbling for purchase, he reaches out and their hands brush for a moment, but neither can get a grip. In the brief moment of skin contact Spock feels his lover’s fear, but also his acceptance of what is about to happen. Spock lunges halfway out of the ship to try and catch Jim, but it’s already too late and he watches in horror as Jim tumbles into the opening in the fan’s center. Spock screams in physical and emotional pain, falling back into the craft._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spock’s eyes snap open as he screams. He sits up looking around his surroundings desperately, barely realizing that someone was holding his hand and trying to calm him. Spock will deny later the amount of panic coursing through him at that moment of awakening. He’s exceptionally grateful that the only one there to witness this collapse of logic is Leonard. Finally realizing it is Leonard that has his hand and is attempting to calm him sends Spock into a feedback loop of relief and renewed panic. Leonard is here and safe, but where is Jim, was the dream real? Had he failed to save his Captain again?

“Spock look at me darlin’, we’re all right. I need you to take deep breaths.” Leonard’s voice finally cut through the fog in his brain. He ceases his attempts to leave the bio bed and does as instructed, taking several deep breaths before turning to Leonard with eyes full of wild emotion.

“Ashayam, where is Jim? Did I fail?”

“No Spock, you didn’t fail. Jim is fine, you grabbed him before he could be sucked into space. That’s why you’re here, your wound tore open again. You’ve been in a healing trance for three days,” Leonard said as he reached up and cupped Spock’s face between his hands, brushing away tears that Spock had been unaware had fallen. “Reach out to the bond Spock, he’s there. He’s probably trying to leave his meeting early, you were projecting quite heavily.” Spock brought his hands up and clasped Leonard’s wrists as if to anchor him in place before closing his eyes and reaching out to the bond he shared with Jim and Leonard. The Doctor’s part of the bond glowed brightly, more open then it had ever been. He caressed the bond with Leonard reverently before he cast his mind farther out in search of his other bondmate. It took only a moment before his mind was embraced by the warmth of Jim’s mind. Spock released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He relaxed into Leonard’s arms until he was embracing his partner.

“It’s all right Spock, we’re alive, we’re safe,” Leonard said softly, holding Spock close and cupping the back of his head with one hand while the other rubbed soothing circles into his back. The last time he had seen Spock this emotionally compromised Vulcan had been destroyed. He held Spock tighter at that thought hoping it hadn’t transferred through the bond. Spock gave no indication it had so Leonard continued to provide what comfort he could until Spock had regained his mental shields. Leonard lost track of how long they stayed like this, just taking comfort in each other, until the door opened and Jim came rushing in looking like he had run all the way there from Commodore Paris’ office.

“Spock!”

“T’hy’la,” Spock said with great relief, turning his head toward Jim, but not letting go of Leonard. Jim stepped forward and threw an arm around both men. Spock and Leonard shifted to envelope Jim into their embrace and if more tears were shed nobody commented on it.

“Are you all right Spock? The amount of emotion that came through the bond almost sent me to my knees as I was leaving my meeting. I couldn’t tell who it was coming from, I thought something had happened,” Jim said as he held his loves close.

“My fault Jim,” Leonard said with a sigh. “He was having a nightmare; I touched his face to wake him. With both of our shields down I got pulled in.” He tried to pull away, but the other two wouldn’t let him.

“No one’s fault Leonard,” Spock said softly. “While I often wish I did not dream like full Vulcans, it is illogical to want that which can not happen. Having your mind so open right now is a great comfort, please do not think otherwise.”

“Yeah,” Jim agreed. “All that matters is that we’re alive and together. And now that Spock’s awake, we can begin healing together, and sleeping together, and eating together.” Jim smiled as he spoke hoping to get an answering smile from at least one lover. Spock had regained enough control that he did not outright smile, but his eyes danced with amusement. Leonard huffed out a breath somewhere between a sigh and a laugh.

“Yes Jim, all of those things plus talking. There’s a lot we need to discuss,” Leonard said leveling a stern look between the other two. Both Captain and First Officer looked away sheepishly, or in Spock’s case as sheepishly as a Vulcan could look.

“Now let’s get a few scans finished then we’ll get out of here,” Leonard said. This time when he stepped away the other two let him, but continued to hold onto each other. Spock leaned into Jim’s embrace, he was fully aware that at this moment he was acting illogically, allowing his emotions to guide his actions, but he could not bring himself to care. He was tired, emotionally drained by the events of the past week. The healing trance had finished healing the wound in his side, but he would need several hours of meditation to bring his mind back into balance. Until he had the chance to do that, he would allow his human side to dominate his actions, within reason of course. The strong presence of his T’hy’lara at his side grounded him in the moment. Leonard spoke softly as he read off parts of the scan, there was no lasting damage at the impact site for which they were all grateful.

Physically, Spock was fit enough to be discharged. Leonard signed the charts and forms while Spock got dressed in a replicated uniform. The trio walked in silence back to their assigned quarters. There was a section of the station meant specifically for visiting Starfleet personnel, and many of the officers had elected to stay there during shore leave as opposed to the ship. When the _Enterprise_ had been called out suddenly barely a day into their leave Commodore Paris had worked it out that the quarters assigned for shore leave would remain available to the crew upon their return. It was a small comfort to many of the crew, including the three senior officers, as it allowed a solid place for them to return at night and held the items they had disembarked the _Enterprise_ with for their initial leave. Of the remaining crew, those that weren’t in Starfleet assigned quarters were either in the hospital or with friends and family that lived in Yorktown. The station quarters were larger and far more comfortable than quarters found on starships, not that they hadn’t been comfortable on the _Enterprise_ , but their quarters on the ship hadn’t had a king-sized bed and full kitchen.

“I’m requesting one of these when the _Enterprise_ is rebuilt,” Jim said with a sigh as he flopped onto the large bed.

“It would be most convenient,” Spock agreed.

“After everything we’ve been through the least command owes us is a king-sized bed,” Leonard said as he took off the jacket of his Starfleet medical uniform, he was soon changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. “You guys should get changed; I’m going to get lunch started. Pasta sound good?” Jim gave a thumbs up from where he lay on the bed.

“Sounds good Bones,” Jim said, letting his arm fall back to the mattress. Leonard smiled softly before turning to leave the bedroom. Spock followed Leonard to the small kitchen to offer his assistance, but Leonard shooed him back towards the bedroom.

“I got this, you go get changed and hang out with Jim, catch up on what’s been going on.” Spock nodded his head, but did not immediately leave; instead, he offered his hand to Leonard in the ozh’esta. Leonard placed his fingers against Spock’s with a small smile, despite his misgivings about Vulcan telepathy he really enjoyed this form of intimacy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“All right, as much as I don’t want to add more emotional stress before you get a chance to meditate, Spock, but we need to talk. The three of us have had a breakdown in communication in the last few weeks,” Leonard said as they cleaned up after lunch.

“I know Bones,” Jim said with a sigh. He stepped into the living area and sat on the couch, shoulders slumped. Spock and Leonard exchanged a glance before they followed, Spock took a seat on the couch with Jim while Leonard took the adjacent armchair.

“So Jim, when were you going to tell us you applied for the Yorktown’s Vice Admiral position,” Leonard asked, cutting right to the chase. Spock’s eyes snapped up, clearly not expecting Leonard’s question or that it was directed at Jim. Jim sighed, still looking down at his feet, elbows braced on his knees.

“At the time I figured I’d tell you when it came through. Don’t ask what my thought process was when I applied. I don’t even know, I wasn’t in a good place.”

“I figured as much,” Leonard said leaning back in his chair.

“How did you find out about it Bones? Paris and I only discussed it once before the whole Altamid fiasco.”

“The station's CMO mentioned it during one of the shifts we worked together. She apparently hears and knows everything that happens on this station. She asked if I was going to transfer as well.”

“I’m not taking it,” Jim said with surety. “I don’t know what it says about me that it took the destruction of my ship for me to get my head back on straight, but after everything that happened I can’t imagine being stuck behind a desk while you guys risk everything.”

“Jim, if you had left, we would have followed,” Spock said with his head cocked to the side in that way that said he thought his humans were being particularly illogical.

“I can’t really explain what I was thinking, but on some level I must have thought it was better for me to step aside. I recommended Spock take my place,” Jim said before reaching out and taking Spock’s hand in his. “You deserve your own ship love, you should have had your own ship long before I did.”

“Ashayam, I have no wish to be Captain. My place is as your first officer, I find it most fulfilling,” Spock said entwining his fingers with Jim’s.

“Doesn’t stop me thinking I have deprived you of something, stunted your career.”

“Not at all Jim, I am also a scientist, where better to potentially excel in my field than by making discoveries on the frontier of space.”

“He’s got a point Jim; do you know how many applications I get from fresh faced doctors who want to be on the frontier learning new ways to practice medicine?” Leonard interjected.

“A lot?”

“It’s a lot,” Leonard said with a slight grin.

“All right, no more rash admiral applications. We’re finishing this five-year mission together.” Jim said with a smile. His smile faltered a moment as he watched Leonard raise an eyebrow at Spock who wasn’t making eye contact again. “Spock?”

“I too had a moment where I thought it would be better served if I left,” Spock confessed.

“What do you mean Spock?” Jim asked, brow furrowed.

“Upon our arrival at Yorktown I was approached by members of the Vulcan embassy. They informed me of the passing of Ambassador Spock.” Jim took a sharp breath at Spock’s words, but did not interrupt. “My earlier conflict about whether or not it was logical to remain in Starfleet or to aid in the further establishment of New Vulcan returned. I thought perhaps I should continue the ambassador’s work. After the events of Altamid I was reminded I was where I was needed most, I no longer feel the need to leave Starfleet. There is plenty of time to work as an Ambassador,” Spock said, finally looking up at his bondmates.

“Oh Spock, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how that must have felt,” Jim said shifting so he was closer and taking the Vulcan’s other hand so he now held both in his lap. The trio sat in silence for several minutes lost in their own thoughts and letting their emotions ebb and flow through the bond.

“Well Bones, did you have secret plans to leave too?” Jim asked when he could take the silence no longer.

“My plans ain’t secret, you’ll know when I want to leave,” Leonard said with his trademark scowl in place. Jim laughed and the last bits of tension drained from the room, even Spock’s lips twitched into his almost smile that the other two loved so much. After a moment Spock stood and retrieved something from the coat closet by the door. He sat the box on the coffee table but did not open it.

“What’s this Spock?” Jim asked.

“Some of the ambassador’s personal effects were delivered to me by the Vulcan emissaries. I have not gone through them fully.”

“Spock, we don’t have to do this now. I think your emotional control has been tested enough, don’t you?” Leonard said. He leaned forward in his chair to place a hand on Spock’s knee where he sat on the couch. Jim slid an arm around the Vulcan’s shoulders.

“It is illogical to postpone it any longer,” Spock said with a shake of his head. The box was small and it didn’t hold much beyond the photo Spock had already spent a great deal of time looking at. Jim found the image to be bizarrely fascinating.

“Do you think we’ll look like this when we get that old?” He asked after passing the photo to Leonard.

“Not exactly but similar, I did mistake the ambassador for my father upon our first meeting,” Spock answered as he pulled out a PADD that held some of his counterpart’s files and notes.

“That’s not too bad, I like the way we are now. Although Bones looks good with blue eyes.” Leonard scoffed at the statement as he looked at the image.

“Uniforms are interesting, wonder if our Starfleet will make a similar change,” Leonard said, choosing not to make a comment on the physical differences of their counterparts.

“I would not be opposed to the prospect,” Spock said as he pulled the final item from the box, a black meditation robe. An old-fashioned paper note fell from the folds and fluttered to the ground. Spock bent to pick it up, laying the robe across his lap as he did so. The ambassador’s penmanship was neat and fluid, Spock felt a wash of unexpected emotion, not at the words but at how similar they looked to his mother’s handwriting.

_Spock –_

_I hope the news of my passing has not caused you too much emotional strain. I have been aware for some time that my health was failing and find I am quite content with how my life has progressed. My only regret is how my actions inadvertently changed the lives of you and the others. Though I am gratified that somethings remain constant and that you took my advice to remain in Starfleet. You have the advantage of finding and acknowledging your T’hy’lara earlier in life than I did, cherish them Spock. The three of you will face many challenges together, some I know will mirror events that occurred in my timeline, others will not. In the PADDs I have left you, you will find carefully edited anecdotes for how to potentially deal with certain situations. I have included only those incidents where, like with Kahn, the fate of more than your lives rests in the balance. Your solution for your encounter with Kahn, however, proves nothing is set in stone. While certain events are statistically bound to repeat themselves, anything may occur._

_You may be wondering about the meditation robe. I have had this robe for many years, a gift from my mother at the end of the Enterprise’s first five-year mission. It has seen my death and rebirth and many hours of meditating the illogical tendencies of my humans. I hope you find it as comfortable and comforting as I did. In an inner pocket you will find the only items I had with me of my Jim and Leonard at the time of my mission. They are the one thing I can leave to them knowing that what they represent will be respected. I know this letter may seem overly emotional and illogical at times, but in my old age I find it necessary to indulge in a certain level of emotion. At this point in my life the emotion of sentiment is all I have left some days. Take care of each other, and when the time comes to take your next steps in life don’t lose sight of one another._

_Live long and prosper my friend,_

_-Spock_

Spock did not realize he had tears running down his face until he felt a hand reach up and brush them away. He looked up to see Jim and Leonard watching him closely.

“You all right Spock?” Jim asked. For a moment Spock contemplated nodding and ignoring the emotions crashing through him until he could meditate but decided to continue allowing his human side to dominate. Instead he shook his head and handed Jim the letter for him and Leonard to read. As his T’hy’lara shifted so they could read the letter together Spock ran his fingers over the fabric in his hand, feeling the softness of age and tracing the white Vulcan script on the front. Almost without conscious thought he sought the inner pocket mentioned in the letter and found three silver bands with intricate carvings and an inlay of a familiar green stone, along with another small note.

_Vulcan males do not wear rings, I know, but I could not say no to them. -S_

Spock inspected the rings he held in his hand; the polished silver was decorated with swirling Vulcan script. The engravings went from the silver to the green vokaya seamlessly spelling out Vulcan endearments. Picking up the other two rings and inspecting them in turn he found that the carvings varied slightly, possibly to indicate which ring belonged to which man. His mind couldn’t puzzle out the minute details to answer the question of which ring belonged to whom at the moment. A hand closed over the one he held the rings in, Spock blinked at it for a moment before raising his eyes to meet Leonard’s soft hazel eyes. He much preferred Leonard to have the hazel eyes and Jim the blue as opposed to what they had been in the other timeline. He did not want to imagine it any other way. The hazel eyes grew concerned, had Leonard asked a question.

“I am sorry ashayam, I was lost in thought,” Spock said softly.

“Yeah, I can see that. You need to rest and meditate darlin’, this is a lot of heavy material and we’ll all need to be in the right head-space to go over it.” Spock tried to form an argument to continue, but found that he could not. Instead he nodded, standing he placed the rings back in the pocket he took them from and let his partners help him to the bedroom.

“Do you want us to stay with you,” Jim asked as Spock situated himself on his meditation mat.

“That is not necessary adun, I will be all right,” Spock said. He still held the ambassador’s robe in his hands. With only slight hesitation he settled it across his shoulders and arranged it to his satisfaction. It provided a comforting weight and warmth, Spock sighed as he closed his eyes and began his meditation. As they left their mate to his meditation Jim whispered to Leonard.

“Has he ever used that term before with us? Adun?”

“Not that I recall,” Leonard said, carding a hand through his hair. “Let’s not worry about it, we can ask him when he’s had time to process.” Jim nodded in agreement and went to the kitchen where they had put the real liquor what felt like ages ago.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spock had begun his meditation in the early afternoon, it was well into the station's night cycle when he emerged from the bedroom looking far calmer than when he had gone in. Jim and Leonard looked up at him from where they sat on the couch, a holovid playing on the screen in front of them. The box still sat on the coffee table; its contents returned except for the black robe. Spock walked over and perched on the couch next to Jim with his usual stiff posture.

“Doing better Spock?” Leonard asked.

“I believe I have indeed restored my mental balance. I will likely continue to have extensive meditation sessions over the next several days as true balance can not be attained in one session given how long I have gone without meditation,” Spock said. He certainly sounded like he was back to his usual self.

“Sound thinking, I wouldn’t have recommended trying to do it all in one go either, always good to take a break.”

“Indeed ashayam,” Spock agreed. The silence resumed as the three of them watched the holovid. Jim leaned into Leonard’s shoulder while placing a hand on Spock’s knee, the Vulcan didn’t protest the contact as it was a comfort to both. When the holovid ended Spock shifted his hand and brushed two of his fingers against Jim’s, the contact making the blonde shiver. He turned his head and grinned at the Vulcan.

“Something on your mind Spock?”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet, we were waiting for you, thought we might order in. What do you feel like, there’s that Terran Andorian fusion restaurant we saw when we first docked,” Jim said stretching his limbs before standing and looking around for something.

“Kitchen table Jim,” Leonard said with a bored look.

“Oh yeah,” Jim said with his usual carefree smile as he walked to the kitchen. Spock and Leonard exchanged an amused look, their lover was rather predictable sometimes. Jim returned with his PADD in his hands, presumably scrolling through dining options. Ordering food took little time and while it took longer than using a replicator, food made the old-fashioned way always tasted better. During dinner Spock found himself distracted, his hand often ghosting over the pocket where he had placed the three rings from the ambassador’s robe. He tried to focus on what Jim was saying about the future of their crew and what would come next.

“The commodore informed me today that crew members who wish to, can accompany the salvage teams whenever they’re ready. I figured we could go out in a day or two, once we’re sure we’re ready. Are you still doing shifts at station medical?” Jim was saying, looking from Spock to Leonard.

“Nah, sent a message to Dr. Hamstead, Yorktown’s CMO, when I was signing Spock’s discharge papers. Told her I’d be taking some time for myself, she said to let her know when I got bored,” Leonard said as he speared an alien vegetable with his fork, it looked like a piece of broccoli except it was a deep purple. As he did whenever they tried new food Leonard had scanned everything and found their food choices to be acceptable and not likely to send Jim into an allergic reaction. Spock watched them fondly as they talked, the bond anchored at the back of his mind glowed with their contentment.

“Hey Spock, can I ask you a question?” Jim asked later as they cleaned up. Leonard watched them as he poured drinks for himself and Jim and set tea to brew for Spock.

“As usual Captain, you have just done so,” Spock said, raising an eyebrow at Jim. Leonard snorted a laugh behind them while Jim rolled his eyes, although he was unable to keep the grin from sliding across his features.

“You are definitely feeling better, Mr. Spock,” Jim said, accepting the glass Leonard handed him. Spock took his tea and followed Jim back into the living room, he thought he knew where Jim’s question might lead, however. Had they seen the rings he’d been holding? He remembered Leonard putting a hand over them but that did not necessarily mean he had seen them.

“Just before you started your meditation you used a Vulcan word we haven’t heard before, just wondered if you remembered doing that and what it meant?” Jim asked after they had settled as they had earlier that day. Spock found himself wrong footed once again at having a conversation not begin as he had predicted. He cast his mind back to just before his meditation, he wasn’t quite clear headed about those few minutes as so many unchecked emotions wreaked havoc on his mind.

“I am not sure I remember. Too many strong emotions at the time, what was the word?”

“Adun, whatever it means I like it, far easier to pronounce than most,” Leonard said with a smile. Spock, however, did not smile in return, instead his cheeks flushed green and he looked down at his tea.

“Ah,” he said. That got Jim’s and Leonard’s attention, Spock never used such human forms of speech.

“Spock? What does it mean, come on it can’t be that bad. You know I like learning new Vulcan words,” Jim said. He grinned at Spock and put his arm on the back of the couch getting comfortable with his body half turned towards the Vulcan.

“It is another Vulcan term of endearment. I have not used it in the past because though the three of us have been bondmates for nearly four years it describes our relationship in a way I thought you might not yet be comfortable considering,” Spock said, choosing his words with great care and still looking at the tea he held in his hands.

“Spock, after four years I’m pretty sure we aren’t going anywhere, that’s what you’re worried about isn’t it, scaring us away?” Leonard said.

“I remind you Leonard that Vulcans do not worry.”

“Yeah yeah we know, worry is a human emotion. Cut the shit Spock,” Leonard said waving the hand holding his drink. It had the desired effect of making Spock look up at them, his lips pressed into a thin line of annoyance. Leonard raised an eyebrow in challenge waiting for Spock to tell them what the word meant.

“Adun means husband, we have never discussed marriage in the human sense. Though in the eyes of the Vulcan council we are a married triad, we have never referred to each other as thus. I do not necessarily think you would be scared away if I were to start referring to you as my husbands, when we made the commitment to bond, I emphasized it would be permanent. I was endeavoring to be considerate to your humanity.” Silence met Spock’s statement, he watched Jim and Leonard exchange a shocked glance as if this was the last thing they expected. Spock took a sip of his tea and attempted to regain control of his too fast heart rate. He could feel the bond shifting, emotions bouncing back and forth between the other two in silent conversation. Spock let them have their time to figure out what to do next. He was not afraid they would want to leave; he knew their relationship was solidly established. This would likely just make things awkward for a while.

“Spock, we never mentioned wanting to get married in human tradition because we figured you wouldn’t want to,” Jim said finally. He placed his glass down on the coffee table, he moved so he faced Spock completely, taking Spock’s tea from his hands and set it next to his drink. He grasped Spock’s tea warmed fingers in a sure grip, behind him Spock saw Leonard stand and move to his other side on the couch. A hand joined Jim and Spock’s while another went to his shoulder.

“We knew by Vulcan law we were considered married and you seemed content with that, we weren’t going to push, why mess with a good thing right?” Jim continued after Leonard got comfortable.

“Would you want to do a human ceremony, Spock?” Leonard asked.

“The thought has crossed my mind on a number of occasions. I thought it wise to let you suggest the idea.”

“We really communicate well don’t we?” Jim said with a soft laugh.

“No relationship is perfect ashayam, we function quite well given the usually high stress environment we often find ourselves in.” Spock said. The corner of his mouth quirked in his almost smile and he leaned his head forward until it rested against Jim’s.

“I could have lost both of you this last week, I want to proclaim our relationship in every way possible. If not for the bond I don’t know what I would have done not knowing you were alive. Call me sentimental but I like the idea of having a physical representation of our relationship should the worst ever happen,” Leonard said, squeezing Spock’s shoulder and leaning against the Vulcan’s lean frame.

“Me too Spock, I want everything with you guys. Just name the place and I’ll be there, uniform pressed and hair combed,” Jim said with a wide grin. The bond sang with all the emotion passing between them, basking in its mental glow Spock tilted his head and captured Jim’s lips in a human kiss. Jim hummed his appreciation at the kiss but gave a small whine when Spock pulled away to turn and kiss Leonard. Leaning back against Leonard Spock disentangled his hands from Jim and reached into his pocket to pull out the rings from the ambassador.

“Your willingness to consider a human ceremony reminds me I wanted to ask what you thought of these. They were in the ambassador’s robe; I can only assume they were our counterpart’s wedding bands. As you read the letter you know he left these to you, I find I have the illogical wish that he was still here so I might ask about their origin.” Spock let his hand fall open and the silver bands glinted in the light.

“Old you was a bit sentimental huh? Good to know,” Leonard said as he reached forward and plucked one of the bands from Spock’s hand. Spock raised an eyebrow as Jim chuckled, pecking Spock on the cheek before he picked up one of the rings to examine. Jim turned the ring over in his fingers with a soft smile before he spoke.

“I bet these were their McCoy’s idea.”

“What makes you say that,” Leonard asked.

“Old Earth traditionalism,” Jim said with a smirk that turned into a laugh as he attempted to dodge the jab to his ribs.

“Nothing wrong with a little tradition Jim boy, but if you recall wedding rings are supposed to have diamonds in them.”

“Sure, if you want to be boring, this is far more personal than an expensive rock,” Jim said with an eye roll.

“Please clarify,” Spock said, forestalling whatever quip Leonard had been about to throw out.

“Well Spock, traditionally a wedding ring, for either male or female, is decorated in diamonds of varying size or shape. The bigger the diamond the more expensive and therefore a greater statement piece.”

“Seems a most illogical practice Jim, why should the gems worth matter?” Spock said, cocking his head to the side and frowning.

“Who knows Spock, human pride at its finest really. Not everybody went with a traditional diamond, a lot of people chose stones their partners favored and created more personalized wedding bands, I think that’s what we have here though I don’t recognize the inlay.”

“It is vokaya,” Spock said.

“Huh, guess you’ll always be able to find us too,” Jim said, seeming unfazed. He remembered, of course, the properties of vokaya, but he couldn’t deny it had come in handy back on Altamid and it was rather pretty.

“Not like he couldn’t anyway Jim, the Vulcan hoodoo in our heads acts like a damn beacon if he wants to find one of us. I’m starting to think Vulcan’s do not like to lose things,” Leonard said with a hint of his usual sarcasm.

“No, we do not,” Spock said so dryly that it was impossible for the humans to keep a straight face. Spock waited for them to compose themselves so that the conversation could continue.

“I don’t much care for losing things either, not going to say no to a secret tracking device,” Jim said with a smile.

“A lot of love and thought went into these rings,” Leonard said. He was still holding one of the rings, inspecting it from every angle. “Be a shame not to use them.”

“Only if you are comfortable with the idea,” Spock stressed.

“What’s not to be comfortable with? The way I see it, it’s not much different than using a family heirloom ring. You’ve seen the ring I wear, that’s been in the McCoy family for generations.”

“A logical argument, Doctor,” Spock said, nodding his head in Leonard’s direction.

“It has been known to happen.” Spock’s only reply was to raise an eyebrow that had Jim snickering into his drink. The trio put the rings aside for the night, feeling no real rush to identify which was meant to go which man. Instead they relaxed for the rest of the evening and made plans to go out on one of the salvage runs in the next few days. Unbeknownst to Jim, Leonard and Spock were making secret plans to get the remaining crew together to celebrate Jim’s birthday; this was not a year to ignore the event, they had decided.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The end of the week rolled around and found the triad strapped into one of Yorktown’s runabout shuttles with various members of the surviving crew. The salvage trip would take most of the day, they had departed Yorktown at 0600 and carefully followed the _Enterprise’s_ previous course through the nebula. Within a few hours they found themselves gazing upon the blue-grey planet once again. The crew was silent as they looked upon the planet that had been the scene of so much loss, not just of sentient life, but also that of the _Enterprise_ herself. The body of that marvelous silver lady lay in a debris field orbiting the planet, as they drew closer the crew moved about the shuttle, splitting into two groups. Leonard gripped Spock and Jim’s hands for a moment before joining Nurse Chapel and other members of the engineering and medical departments donning EVA suits. The body of the _Enterprise_ was completely exposed to vacuum, but there were still items in sickbay that could be recovered as well as from some personal crew quarters. Spock, Jim, and miscellaneous other crew were to beam down to the planet to the saucer section where the officer’s quarters and the science labs were. It was the first time they were separating since the defeat of Krall and they were a little uneasy about that, not that they would admit it out loud. While their personal lives were no one else’s business they did not need to appear nervous in front of the crew. Now more than ever they needed to be the pinnacle of composed leadership. As the two away teams prepared to beam to their destinations the pilot came over the comm system with final reminders.

“All right ladies and gentlemen, it is 0900. We’ve been giving each salvage group eight hours to find what they can. On your PADDs you will find notes from the previous salvage teams on what is where and what still needs to be found from the main areas. Those looking for personal quarters will find location notes as well. We will begin beam out at 1645 with the goal of being on our way back to Yorktown by 1700. Keep in constant radio contact, Captain Kirk, I leave the rest to you.” The pilot stopped talking and all eyes turned to Kirk. Some of the crew had already done a salvage mission or two so had already heard everything the pilot had said.

“It’s pretty straightforward guys, keep your eye on the time and don’t go off alone. I want everyone on the debris field team to report into Dr. McCoy regularly; saucer team, keep Commander Spock aware of your movements, there are still hostile beings down there. We are not losing anyone else to this miserable rock. Debris team, when you’re ready, head to the transporters,” Jim addressed his people, every bit the confident captain that had led the _Enterprise_ against numerous enemies. After Jim finished addressing the crew they divided up easily, Bones corralled his team at the transporters once everyone had secured their helmets. With a final wave to Jim and Spock, who had watched Bones' every move until he stepped onto the transporter, the first salvage team disappeared in swirls of golden light.

Beaming down to the planet took a little more time as the shuttle maneuvered to a lower orbit around the planet. Jim, Spock, and the other crew members dawned the sturdier survival jackets that were found inside the kelvin pods as an extra layer against the elements and the debris of the ship. Altamid wasn’t cold persay but it certainly wasn’t warm, better to have the extra layer than to go down there and be uncomfortable when trying to do work quickly. Once planet side the crew split into pairs and worked their way into the ship from different locations, the saucer being upside down made navigating more difficult but after a time Jim and Spock did manage to find the quarters they had shared for the last four years. Jim held the hand lamp while Spock worked at prying the doors open, inside looked about what they expected, a total disaster. Carefully they picked their way through the mess, it was odd standing on the ceiling of their room and it would certainly make getting to some of the lower cabinets difficult but they would manage. Exchanging a glance, the two officers got to work picking through what had been their life for the last four years. They each had a backpack to carry whatever they managed to find, they weren’t hoping for much.

In the end they managed to salvage the few antique printed books that Jim kept on board, a few of Spock’s meditation accoutrements and Vulcan robes that he kept for visits to New Vulcan. For Bones they grabbed anything from Joanna, art pieces and a few framed holos. They picked up what mementos of their adventures that had survived, personal PADDs, and any uniform shirts that weren’t damaged, no sense in wasting those. In the end it took them nearly half the time allotted to them to sort through their destroyed quarters.

“Let’s call it Spock, I don’t think we’ll find anything else here that we can’t replace,” Jim said stretching his arms above his head and releasing a sigh.

“I believe you are correct, I propose a final once over before departing, however, just to be certain.”

“You got it, then we get out of here and eat something, I’m hungry.”

“Of course ashayam,” Spock said, his eyes the only give away to his amusement. The final once over did turn up a few items they decided they did want to keep but otherwise they had found everything of importance. They took their time climbing their way out of the ship, encountering other crew members on their way out or to another part of the ship. They thought for a moment about detouring to the bridge but with it upside down it wouldn’t be the same, Jim felt it would be rather depressing actually. When they finally made their way out of the ship it was after 1500. Spock put out a time check reminder over the communicator as they clambered out of the crater the _Enterprise_ had created to settle at the tree line. Over the next hour the crew reappeared and joined them at the crater’s edge talking quietly amongst themselves. Everyone was exhausted and ready to return to Yorktown for the night. When all the crew had gathered Jim called up to the shuttlecraft for beam out. There was nothing more they could do here.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Returning to their quarters later that night, exhausted and, in the case of Jim and Spock, dirty, the three officers all but collapsed on the couch. Even Spock, though he had far more grace about him. After several minutes sitting in comfortable silence Spock stood from his place between his two humans. He brushed the back of his knuckles first against Leonard’s cheek and then against Jim’s. They smiled softly up at him, Jim took the still outstretched hand in a light grip.

“Going to meditate?” He asked.

“Affirmative, it has been a rather trying day. Sifting through what had been our lives aboard the _Enterprise_ had a greater emotional toll than I had anticipated. You need not wait for me if you want to eat dinner soon, I can eat later.”

“As long as you eat Spock, you need the calories to help your body recover,” Leonard said. He pressed a hand to his mouth covering a yawn. Working in the vacuum of space was more exhausting than most people thought.

“I will eat, ashayam, you and Jim should sleep soon. You need not worry about disturbing me.” Spock said letting go of Jim’s hand. His expressive human eyes were soft with affection but they were weary too. He stepped away from the couch and entered the bedroom, the other two could hear the soft sounds of Spock preparing his meditation space. Jim reached the hand that had held Spock’s and took Leonard’s where it rested on the couch. Leonard hummed and laced their fingers together, his eyes had closed as he relaxed again into the couch.

“Come on Bones, simple dinner then sleep. Maybe shore leave will be relaxing tomorrow,” Jim said.

“Sure it will be,” Bones said with a wry smile. He squeezed Jim’s hand before heaving himself off the couch, dragging Jim behind him to the small kitchen. Together they made a simple dinner of sandwiches and soup, the backpacks of their recovered items remained by the door.

“Have you been able to get ahold of Joanna since everything settled down?” Jim asked as they sat at the kitchen table with their food. Bones, who had just taken a bite of his sandwich, gave the universal sign of ‘yes and no’. Jim waited for Bones to finish with a fond smile.

“Haven’t been able to do a live call, but we’ve exchanged messages. Her momma’s not happy about it, but she knows she can’t stop us communicating. She’s getting so big Jim, I can’t wait to get back to Earth for a visit.”

“Hopefully we can make that happen soon,”Jim said. He wanted to see Joanna too, he’d gotten attached to the kid at the academy once Bones’ ex had finally allowed them to communicate regularly. She’d been seven when they started the academy, she’d be about 13 now. That’s a hard time to be down a parent, but Bones was doing his best and Joanna knew she could always call Jim or Spock too. Though the few times she had called specifically for Spock had caused some of the most memorable conversations.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day wasn’t more relaxing on a whole, Jim had a few more meetings to attend to and since Spock was now released from the hospital there were meetings he was expected to go to as well, as first officer. That left Leonard plenty of time on his own to finalize the party for Jim, all of the remaining crew were on board with the plan and were looking forward to it. The space was reserved and everyone knew where to meet and when, Uhura would come collect Spock on some made up errand earlier in the day to finish setup and Leonard would walk with Jim down to the party, hopefully keeping him thinking they were just going to meet Uhura and Spock for a drink at the end of the day. Surprising the captain wasn’t an easy task, but hopefully he had been distracted enough lately to forget that his birthday was tomorrow. Usually, Leonard and Spock were fine with Jim ignoring his birthday, even if he certainly never let them ignore theirs, being born on the day your father dies fighting an unknown superior enemy doesn’t tend to lead to the happiest of celebrations. Spock, as a Vulcan, saw very little point in the celebrations of one's birth and allowed the captain to do what he liked in regards to the day. If he also happened to be a little more indulgent to Jim’s whims that was his business. Leonard understood how much a date can hurt when it really shouldn’t, before the relationship with Spock the two had gotten together over a quiet drink and talked about his birthday as little as possible. They’d continued to do that since Spock had brought the three of them together, they just didn’t let themselves get drunk and Spock took care of them when they got back. The last time just before they had reached Yorktown had been a little rougher, Jim hadn’t been in a good place mentally and Leonard could see it. He should have pressed harder about what had Jim so down but he had assumed they would have time on shore leave to hash it out. With everything that had happened Leonard and Spock had agreed that this year they couldn’t allow Jim to ignore it, and since the whole crew was involved he was more likely to let them get away with it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Getting Jim out of their quarters after his meetings had concluded the next day was about as difficult as Bones had expected. Jim both wanted to meet Spock and Nyota for a drink and wanted to stay in and do absolutely nothing. He knew Spock would understand, and Bones couldn’t deny that, but he couldn’t allow all of their planning to go to waste. Eventually he managed to get Jim changed and out of the apartment, on the way Jim filled him in on what had been discussed in the last meeting; which would hopefully be the last one for a while.

“So command finalized the change in plan for the constitution class starship that is being built out here at Yorktown. Instead of being christened the _Hood_ upon completion she’ll be designated the _Enterprise_ registration 1701-A. We’ll be able to jump into the finalization process on her in the coming days, she’s about half done but still plenty of time to get some things changed to our preferences. Scotty will be excited, the engines are supposed to be the newest configuration, beyond efficient,” Jim said as they walked along the pathway approaching their destination.

“He’ll have it taken apart and running even better within a month,” Bones said with a wry grin.

“Oh yea, for sure. We also got adjusted mission orders. We’re finishing out our original five year mission, take some extended shore leave for crew swap out and any upgrades and repairs that are bound to be needed in the next two and half years, and then once that’s done we go back out into a second five year mission.”

“Jesus, five more years in space,” Bones grumbled, shaking his head. “You didn’t even try to get out if it did you? There's dozens of things I can think of off the top of my head that could kill us.”

“Why would I try to get out of it? We know our way through the nebula now, the things we can discover in that truly uncharted space will be phenomenal. Come on Bones, it will be fun,” Jim said, patting his bondmate on the shoulder. “Is this the place?”

“Yeah,” Bones said, leaning past Jim to pull the door open. The blonde smiled at the doctor as he walked through the door but stopped short when instead of being met by some bar he was met by a meeting space filled with his crew. In the large window behind them he could see the skeleton of the new _Enterprise_ being built.

“I know you usually like to keep it under wraps, but i think we all need this,” Bones said as Scotty bounced over with a drink in hand for each of them. Jim smiled ruefully, thanking the Scotsman for the drink, he cast his eyes around the room again and saw his other partner standing to the side with Uhura and looking quite pleased with himself. There was a call for a toast to the Captain, Jim smiled almost shyly and raised his glass and countered with his own toast.

“To the _Enterprise_ and her crew, and to absent friends.” Glasses raised again and then after a moment attention shifted from the captain and everyone returned to the conversations they had been having before he arrived. Jim took a swig of his drink and walked further into the room finding where some food had been placed. Jim wanted to be annoyed at his partners for the surprise birthday party but he found he really couldn’t be. He knew his coping mechanism for his birthday might be considered unhealthy, but with how past birthdays had gone he'd much rather ignore it as much as he can with just a call to his mother. Which he would have to do later, he was gonna hear it this time if she had heard about the whole Krall incident. The relationship between him and his mother was complicated, it was a lot better then it had been when he was growing up, when she had thought that he was having a decent life with her brother. After Sam had run and Frank sent Jim to Tarsus, Winona woke up and realized what was important.

Jim mingled with his crew, told them the new orders and the good news about the new _Enterprise_. At one point he saw Scotty conversing with Jaylah who had a terrifying amount of empty glasses in front of her but she seemed no worse for wear. He joined the pair for a moment after Scotty had handed her the acceptance to the academy. He assured her she’d do great and not to worry about all the rules. She had a lot of spirit and nowhere to go, the academy would do her good and it allowed her new friends on the _Enterprise_ to keep track of her and offer help when they could. He offered her a smile and a pat on the shoulder and left her and Scotty discussing the different tracks of study. At some point he found himself at the window that opened on to the dry dock and watched as the new _Enterprise_ was worked on. She’d be ready for shakedown in about six months, until then Yorktown would be home to the crew. One long extended shore leave, it would do a lot of them good to relax, do what jobs they wanted to. Bones would probably go back to helping out at the med bay after some time off, Spock would find something sciencey to do when not overseeing the work on the ship. They had the time, Jim hoped they’d find time to get back to Earth for some real shore leave. Jim had no doubt that their time on the Yorktown space station was about to become a working leave. Movement to his right brought him out of his thoughts abruptly, he glanced over and smiled at Spock who also was gazing up at the ship. Jim took the moment to just look at the Vulcan, his color was so much better than a few days ago. Paler than what would be considered healthy for a human, but for the copper blooded Vulcan he now appeared at the peak of health. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Bones standing on his other side. It was a nice moment between the three as they gazed up at their new ship.

“Thanks guys, this was actually pretty nice,” Jim said after a moment. He bumped his shoulder against Bones and brushed Spock’s hand with two fingers where it rested on the table. Spock returned the gesture, eyes soft.

“Thanks are unnecessary Ashayam,” Spock said.

“You guys ready to get back out there?” Jim asked, eyes going back to the ship.

“Hell no, but I go where you guys go,” Bones said.

“We’ll make it worth your while Bones, don’t worry. And no secret applications for promotions and no running off to New Vulcan without talking about it.”

“Of course, that goes without saying. However, I believe we should take this time to go back to Earth before our mission resumes,” Spock said. Across the bond the other two got a brief flash of the rings still back in their quarters.

“I quite agree Mister Spock,” Bones said, raising his empty glass in a salute.

“Thank you doctor.”

“We’ll figure that out tomorrow, for now let’s relax,” Jim said leaning into Bones now and covering Spock’s hand. They lapsed into silence again gazing up at the incomplete ship above them. Around them the crew chatted, enjoying each other's company truly relaxed for the first time since they returned to Yorktown. In this moment the command team of the _USS Enterprise_ was at peace, happy to be alive and together.

**Author's Note:**

> Almost managed to get this posted in time for Star Trek day, but I forgot how long formatting takes. Hope everyone enjoyed the story, this is my first work in the fandom and hopefully I found a decent balance between all of the lore that is out there both canon and fanon. LLAP!


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